


Sparks

by AGByrne



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 72 Hours, 72 Hours companion one shot, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Freeform, M/M, Marvel - Freeform, One Shot, Short One Shot, in the same universe as 72 Hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 03:36:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19821739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGByrne/pseuds/AGByrne
Summary: Daylin Clark-Ibanez is the half-brother of the reader in 72 Hours, and unbeknownst to him, his life is about to get... electric.





	Sparks

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [72 Hours](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913637) by [AGByrne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGByrne/pseuds/AGByrne). 



> This is a companion piece for 72 Hours with all original characters, and is mostly just meant to give more background for a side character, however if enough people want to know more about Daylin, I am open to the possibility of orphaning the work in the hopes that it will find a writer who can continue it.

Daylin Clark-Ibanez was a happy, average, mild-mannered sort of a guy. It seems stereotypical to describe a superhero that way, but he really was. Before his transformation, he’d worked as a technician in a hydroelectric plant, just trying to do his bit to make the world a better place.

The fact that he still wanted good things for the world after all the shit it had thrown at him was amazing really. His home life had been rough. His parents got divorced early, and his mom’s life kinda spiraled downwards afterwards. High school was even rougher. Between being a nerd, the “poor kid” with hand-me-down clothes and no car, and hiding his sexuality for fear of conversion camps, the entire experience felt like walking through a minefield. Thankfully he survived it, with grades good enough to win him a full ride scholarship and a chance to get the hell out of that backwards little town. It took a while to figure out what exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but he’d always been fascinated by electricity...

His first marriage wasn’t a happy one, but he’d never complain about it because the woman he married gave him two beautiful little girls, Maddie and Paige, before she discovered his secret and left them. Despite the difficulty of that situation, he chose to see the good in it, to be grateful that he didn’t have to hide anymore and to be a better father to his daughters than his own had been to him.

His second marriage was the best thing to ever happen to him and his girls. He’d met the love of his life at a parent teacher conference at his oldest daughter’s elementary school, and the spark he felt was undeniable. Javier was a science teacher who complimented Daylin’s Star Trek t-shirt, laughed at his cheesy electron puns, and made sure every child in his classroom felt special. It was as close to love at first sight as humanly possible. It only took them a few months of dating to figure out they were meant to be, and Javi proposed to Daylin on their first anniversary. Daylin’s daughters were thrilled to have a new Papa, and to get to be flower girls in their wedding. The Clark-Ibanez’s had little fights, like any family, but at the end of the day they were too committed to each other to stay angry for long.

Then the inhuman outbreak happened and turned their happy world upside down.

Daylin was standing at the kitchen on a Saturday afternoon, finishing the sea bass and vegetables he was cooking for dinner. He worried that the fish might not have enough salt, so he broke off a small piece of it to taste. It was perfect.

Suddenly he felt a crawling sensation run down his arm and the fork in his hand clattered to the ground. A layer of hard black skin was oozing through his pores and encasing his body in a thick cocoon.

“Help! Somebody help me!” He shrieked in terror as the hardening shell covered his eyes and mouth, leaving him unable to see, unable to scream, unable to breathe. His last thought was that he was going to die without being able to kiss his daughters and his husband goodbye. Then he felt an energy surging deep within him, a tingling which spread to the surface of his skin and became so intense that it felt like fire. The cocoon shattered and a pulse of electricity emanated from him, turning every powered device in the house turned on for just a minute before overloading and plunging the house into darkness. A hazy glow appeared around his hands, reminding him of a St. Elmo’s fire. The light brightened and snapped and swelled until it covered every inch of his body like a heavy blanket. The tingling began again, and his muscles began to spasm. The more confused and afraid he became, the stronger the sensation was, and he began to violently tremble. The electric field around him kept him standing tall despite the fact that his muscles felt like jello. He was exhausted and in incredible pain, and fighting desperately to stay alive, but his strength was failing and his vision began to blur...

“Clear!” a voice shouted as paddles pressed to his chest. His entire body jolted upward and the surge of electricity kickstarted his new powers into full gear. He regained consciousness just in time to watch helplessly in horror as the paramedic who had just brought him back to life was flung across the room. The back of his head hit the edge of the marble counter he sank down to the floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

A young girl's shriek of terror pierced through the cacophony of frightened and angry voices, and drew Daylin's eyes away from the unconscious man and across the room to his daughters’ ashen faces. They clung to Javier as a fireman rushed them out of the room.

Daylin shook his head frantically as the fear and guilt welled up inside of him, "No, no no," he said, "I didn't mean to, I’m sorry, he was trying to save me, it was an accident, Oh God, I’ve killed him, I’ve.... no no no! No no my babies. Javi, Javi! Help me please, no!!!"

A blast of energy surged from his hands and shattered the glass in a family picture on the wall.

“No, no, no, stop it, stop it!” he screamed, salty tears pouring down his cheeks and making little snapping sounds as they hit the electric field, “What is happening to me?"

Two police officers stepped forward and he put his hands up behind his head as the younger of the two aimed a taser at him. His partner grabbed it out of his hands.

“Woah woah woah, are you insane?” He asked, “This guy just zapped a paramedic and you're going after him with a taser? That’s a good way to get yourself killed! We can't handle this shit. We need to call the Avengers or something.”

  
"Or the ATCU," a surprisingly calm woman in a dark leather jacket said as she entered the room, "Told you the president was lying. See those hunks of weird black stuff? Those are pieces of a husk. He’s been infected with that alien contagion.”

  
“Infected? I've been infected? What about my girls? What about my husband? Please, I need answers?”

"You shut the hell up!” The first nervous cop said, "You've already killed one person and I swear to God if your fingers so much as sparkle I'm putting a bullet in your skull!”

The older police officer said a little more kindly, “Hazmat is on the way but until they get here you just need to stay put. You seem pretty freaked out by all of this but you still electrocuted a person, so as soon as they clear you, you’ll be placed under arrest. You can make things a hell of a lot easier on yourself if you just cooperate.”

Daylin nodded weakly, as the tingling sensation returned to his body. Even if he’d wanted to resist, he didn't think he could survive another power surge. He tried not to look at the blood on the kitchen cabinets, or the paramedics carrying their injured coworker out on a gurney, or the pieces of dark husk on the floor. He hoped irrationally that this was all just some horrible nightmare, but he knew, deep in his bones, that this was a nightmare he would never awaken from.

It was touch and go for a few days, but the paramedic miraculously survived both the electric shock and the blunt force trauma. However, news of the incident spread quickly through a paranoid and increasingly hostile populous, and it soon reached the young head of a Watchdog chapter. Protesters, supporters and just morbidly curious people crowded around the courthouse on the day of his bail hearing. The prosecution argued that his newfound powers were tantamount to him carrying a concealed weapon at all times. The defense argued that was discrimination against a powered person. When the judge granted him release on bail, a group of protesters near the back erupted into angry shouts and were held in contempt. A group of police officers had to escort the couple through the throngs and into their waiting car.

"Javi..." Daylin began quietly.

“No, mi amor,” Javier said, "I want you to listen first. When I married you, I promised to stay by your side in sickness and in health. This is just sickness, even though it is a strange alien sickness which has given you superpowers. We'll find a way to make this work, somehow, but I think we both know what our biggest concern should be.”

"The girls.”

"Yeah. They're at Abuela's house, they're okay and they want to see you.... But the last time they saw Daddy electricity was shooting out of his hands and he almost killed a man. And you've been in jail… this is all going to be very hard on them.”

"I know and I promise I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of this curse and earn their trust again."

"I may know someone who can help…” Javier said hesitantly, “But you're not going to like it.”

“Who?"

"I was doing some research... And I saw the new Avengers spokesperson on the news issuing the Avengers' official statement about this ATCU.”

“And?"

"Day, it's your half sister.”

“No."

"What do you mean no? You said you'd do whatever it takes.”

“Babe, you know I don’t have a relationship with my family, and she was born years after my mom and I left. I met her once, for like five minutes at a funeral. I can't ask her for help. We'll just have to find another way.”

Javier huffed in exasperation, ”What if there is no other way? Do you want to go to jail, to never see your kids again, to electrocute things and people every time you get upset?”

"No! But there has to be someone else... Anyone else…"

"I just don't think there is.”

Daylin sighed and threw his head back with a grimace, "Alright. If we haven't found a solution by the end of the, month, I'll call her.”

"End of the week.”

"Two weeks?”

"Alright," he acquiesced, "Two weeks it is.”

But there truly were no good options. There were too many stories of powered people going into the ATCU’s facilities and never coming out, of corpses found with huge gaping holes burned through their chests, of husks found in empty homes with destruction all around them but no trace of their occupant, angry protestors demanding registration, equally angry powered vigilantes targeting hate groups with little concern for collateral damage, heated debates on superhuman politics dominating the news cycle. It was becoming increasingly obvious that to be a powered person in America and still have any semblance of a normal life was impossible.

Anonymity could have protected Daylin, but all hope of that went out the door when he was arrested. Still, they hoped there was some last minute salvation coming, and held out hope until the day men in hoodies and dog masks broke into their home, beat Javi within an inch of his life, and took Daylin away.

As soon as Javier regained consciousness he stumbled over to the phone and dialed the number from the Avengers’ website, "Hello? This is Javier Clark-Ibanez and I'm Daylin's husband. I know we haven't ever met but… Daylin's in danger and I need your help."


End file.
